August 2019^17
my own DSLR in 2014 caused my interest in
urban exploration to really take off (I have been
frogmarched off premises more than once for
being where I shouldn’t). There are a surprising
amount of derelict buildings around NZ if you are
prepared to drive a ways.
Since then I have moved through landscape
photography, attempted macro photography, and
am now heading down the road of wanting to be
a people photographer. People express so many
emotions in so many ways; I would like to discover
how to capture that in a way that makes people
wonder what was going on when the photo was
taken. My macro lens makes a very fine portraiture
lens and I’m always looking for people who do not
mind having their photo taken... Hint, hint!
TELL US MORE ABOUT THE ABANDONED
BUILDINGS, WHAT FASCINATED YOU?
I liked to walk where others had been but no
longer frequented. I liked the thrill of being caught.
I do not tend to do this often anymore; I am a
little old now to be vaulting over barbed wire
fences without leaving patches of skin behind but
I have dreams of going to places like Chernobyl,
Detroit, Gary Indiana... places where industry has
subsided leaving behind mechanical monstrosities,
monstrosities waiting to be explored.
The great thing about abandoned places is
that they are generally hidden in plain sight. In
Wellington, there are several places which are
quietly rotting, still in the public eye. Head out
into the country and the number of abandoned
buildings goes up dramatically. All up and down
the North Island there are abandoned structures
waiting. I have not made it down to the South
Island yet, but I’m sure there are plenty to find
down there also.YOU HINTED AT BEING FROGMARCHED
OFF OF CERTAIN PROPERTIES, ANY OTHER
NARROW ESCAPES YOU CAN TELL US
ABOUT?
North of Wellington, there is an abandoned
Catholic girl’s school, visible from the state
highway. Exploring those buildings taught me a
valuable lesson: make sure you always have a
way out. I was photographing three side by side
toilet stalls and was moving slowly backwards to
see if I could fit them in frame. The door (sans door
handle) closed and I heard the latch ‘click’. Well...
stuck in a toilet, no door handle, I had to ‘squeeze’
out of a smaller-than-ideal hole in the wall to get
out and managed to almost remove my finger in
the process. A quick trip to the hospital, a stern
telling off by the doctor, and I was back planning
new targets within the week!PATEA MEAT WORKS
F4.5, 1/20s, ISO